Miami Native Lands Dream Role As Executive Chef of Amara at Paraiso

From a young age, Ivan Barros was always in the kitchen watching his parents cook. His father and uncle even owned a small restaurant in the Bronx before he was born, but it took him an online questionnaire many years later to realize he wanted to be a chef. Little did he know then that his culinary journey would one day land him his dream role: executive chef of Amara at Paraiso.

The journey that led him to this role began years ago when he was on the path to study nursing at Miami Dade College. Shortly after realizing he didn't want to become a nurse, an online quiz prompted him to schedule a tour with his mother at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Miami.

"My parents were super supportive," says Barros. "My dad has loved cooking ever since I can remember, and my mom was a pretty good cook, as well. I think they were just excited that I was going to do something I was passionate about."
For two years, Barros juggled culinary school and worked at kitchens to gain as much experience as possible, which led him to start as a line cook at Lime Fresh Mexican Grill. After working for the fast-casual restaurant, he took an opportunity to work in the kitchen of Scarpetta at the Fontainebleau in Miami Beach, where he worked as a line cook slowly learning from every station inside of the kitchen. "Eventually, I landed in the pasta station," he says. "It's the most grueling station because everybody orders pasta, but I loved it. I absolutely loved that. It was hard but a lot of fun to work with so many good cooks who are now chefs. That's also where I got to meet Mike Pirolo and Nina Compton, who to this day are my friends and mentors."

Barros eventually left Scarpetta to achieve his goal of becoming a sous chef, and he did just that. Soon after, he took the opportunity to work for chef Scott Conant in New York City. In order to take on the role of sous chef, he had to live in a small living space, which he describes as "Harry Potter's closet" in a shared house, but it was all worth it. "I loved my job," says Barros. "I was working directly in Scott Conant's' office side by side with chef Nick Kennedy, which, as a young chef, is something you don't get a lot. Usually, you report to sous chefs and the line cooks and you barely ever get to work directly with the executive chef."

He stayed there for three years before moving to California with nothing but a list of restaurants he had written down on paper before graduating. His mentality throughout his early twenties was one thing: "Just get there and figure it out." And that's exactly what he did.

From sleeping on friends' couches to working his way up as Alimento's chef de cuisine, where he devoted five years of his time, the chef worked side jobs in wine stores, packed weekly meals for hospital workers during the COVID pandemic, and eventually helped April and Randy Clement with the opening of Vamos Vamos in Santa Monica.
After ten years away from home, Barros decided it was time to come back to Miami. He fondly remembers that before leaving, Michael's Genuine was one of the most prevalent restaurants in Miami, and he always had his sights on it.

"To me this is huge," he says. Amara at Paraiso, under the helm of James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Schwartz, carries a legacy on Biscayne Bay and has become a staple in Edgewater since its opening in 2017. Barros, a longtime admirer of Schwartz, was ecstatic to find he'd be working directly with one of Miami's very best.

"I wanted to come back home and work for someone who is representative of Miami, so I'm happy it is chef Schwartz," says Barros. "We're excited to introduce a little bit of myself with the menu and unlock Amara's full potential with a mix of dishes indicative of different countries. Guests can have a beautiful view with beautiful food."

Barros officially accepted the position in December 2023. He tells the New Times his first goal was to perfect the restaurant's menu before training the staff to make the new dishes he had in mind.

"It's interesting to be at Amara, where I see a lot of the flavors that I grew up eating," says Barros. "It feels like everything is coming a little bit full circle because I'm able to reproduce the dishes and flavors that I had as a kid, which makes my dad super proud, which is cool."
His goal for the recently launched menu items was to draw inspiration from different countries such as Paraguay, Brazil, and Bolivia while inserting some Caribbean and Puerto Rico flavors and, of course, his Dominican Republic roots.

Some of the chef's favorite dishes from the new menu include heirloom tomatoes, which are locally grown in the Redlands at Borek Farms. His ode to Peru is the half chicken a la brasa, featuring heritage poultry sourced from Joyce Farms and the hamachi tiradito drizzled with lulo vinaigrette.

Other highlights include a Brazilian dish called moqueca, which is a fish stew with steamed prawns, cobia, octopus, coconut milk, and rice, as well as the masa honey cake served with roasted pineapples, honey, Tajin, and coconut cream.

Chef Barros wants to change about 70 percent of the menu by this summer, adding more Latin flavors and his twist to every dish.

Amara at Paraiso. 3101 NE 7th Ave., Miami. Open for lunch Monday through Friday from noon to 4 p.m. and dinner daily from 5 p.m. to close. Brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. amaraatparaiso.com.